WITH THREE consecutive high school state titles under their belts, most of the players on the Branson School volleyball team have been there before and know what it takes to finish on top.

Even three out of the four freshmen on this year's squad got to experience a state title run or two, or three, having older sisters who played at Branson in prior years. The girls will be looking to lock down one of their own when Branson tries for its fourth Division V state championship in a row against Southern California's Tri-City Christian of Vista on Saturday at 10 a.m. The match, set for Concordia University in Irvine, will be streamed live on the Web at www.marinij.com.

"When you get new players on the team, sometimes they don't get it, but because three of the four freshmen have watched it two, three years in a row, they've kind of experienced it too," Branson coach Michelle Brazil said. "It's a really unique situation because although they weren't on the team at that point, they definitely saw the excitement and I'm sure have wanted to be in that position too."

Freshmen Gigi Alper and Carrie Wentzel had sisters play on the last three state finals teams, Lauren Alper and Meghan Wentzel. Carrie has another sister, Kristy, who played on the first championship squad. Maddy Schoenberger's sister, Alex, played on two state championship Branson teams.

"It's been really exciting, Branson's like a family," Gigi Alper said. "It was an easy transition, most of the girls on the team are friends with my sister and it's fun to get be a part of the success. I've never been on a team this dedicated and this driven to reach their goals. It's really rewarding to go from watching to being on the team."

"I got to watch my two older sisters, I came to all the games and now it's really exciting that I'm now a part of the team," Carrie Wentzel said. "It's a privilege to get to follow in their footsteps."

Although Grace Roberts-Burbank hasn't had an older sister play at Branson before her, she has the skill set of a veteran player. The freshman had 10 kills in the NorCal final against Woodside Priory — second most on the team.

"She has a lot of poise especially for a freshman, they probably were expecting to camp out on our outsides a little bit and that's the great thing about this team," Brazil said after the match with Priory. "You expect to camp out on someone and someone else is ready to step up. It's such a great thing to see, people peaking at the right time and playing fearlessly."

Part of the reason for the team's success, as Roberts-Burbank noted, is the way they prepare in practice and training themselves to react a certain way in high-pressure situations.

"She puts a lot of emphasis on our mental toughness and that's very helpful considering the situation we're in now," said Roberts-Burbank of Brazil's coaching style during practices. "The drills are very stressful at times."

"Every drill, every single thing we do in practice is geared to how we play in a game," added Carrie. "Every time we step on the court it becomes natural to us. The main thing that she taught us is to not worry about the match or the game, but just play every single point like it's your last."

The jump from playing against girls at the middle-school and club levels to playing at the varsity level is huge. But Brazil has made sure that even the youngest players on the team are ready for whatever situation is thrown at them on the court. Having teammates who have played on state title teams before certainly helps as well.

"They're definitely leaders on the court, I know a lot of times being younger, it's nerve wracking," Maddy said of her teammates. "They're very encouraging on the court, they've done an unbelievable job taking us under their wing and helping take the pressure off and helping us do what we do in practice every day."

The freshmen along with the rest of the team are ready to continue the string of state championships on Saturday.

"It's so exciting to be a part of the legacy," Roberts-Burbank said. "We're all going to come out with great spirit and a strong will to win and the team is going to carry out what the Branson volleyball tradition is all about."